Crystal Bridges May Bring Opportunity for Local Economy

Just two days after Crystal Bridges' grand opening, the reviews are making waves across the country.

"People have called on the phone from like Dallas, Texas and from Mississippi called everywhere saying what is this museum," says Bailey Pearson, who works at the Bentonville Visitors Bureau.

But hundreds of people spent this weekend in Bentonville to check out the museum that took six years to make.

"It was really impressive, a lot bigger than I thought it would be," says Kenyon Broadley, from Tulsa.

And with all the tourists roaming around, some folks in Bentonville hope all that art will help the local economy.

"I think it will bring a lot more people, a lot of tourists will be coming to Bentonville to see the museum and I think that will help the city expand," says Doyle Reece, from Bentonville.

And maybe all the extra traffic might even benefit the folks who live here.

"Hopefully land value will rise and the houses that we do have here will increase," says Reece

But an art museum in Northwest Arkansas has met it's fair share of criticism.

"When I first learned about it ,I thought it was an odd place to have such a big museum," says Broadley

Some say the airport isn't big enough to draw people in from the east or west coast
But for people like Kenyon Broadly, the drive from Tulsa is worth it.

"I mean I don't know if it's ever going to become Vegas, but it was definitely appealing I mean once you go to crystal bridges you're just going to inherently do some other things while you're here," says Broadley.

And for a lot of folks in Bentonville, the new attraction is a welcome addition to the local economy.